146 The Denshawai Case [1906 



"31^ May. — To Newbuildings for the Whitsuntide holiday, Anne 

 being expected home from Egypt on the 4th. 



" nth June. — This is the anniversary of the Alexandria riots, a date 

 always memorable to me. On Saturday we made an expedition to 

 Chanclebury Ring, I in my wheeled chair with a donkey, the others in 

 the American trap, and we took luncheon with us. While we were 

 there, a horseman rode up who turned out to be Goring from Wiston, 

 who is owner of the Down, and we renewed acquaintance. He told us, 

 among other things, that his father's and his grandfather's lives together 

 covered 180 years, their tenure between them of the Wiston estate 150 

 years. The Gorings got Wiston by a marriage with the Fagges, who 

 had bought it of the Shirleys, when these became involved in the civil 

 war troubles. It is the history of more than one Sussex estate, of the 

 Burrels at West Grinstead, and of ourselves at Newbuildings. 



" 20th June. — Anne arrived last night from Egypt. She confirms 

 my view of the political situation there, saying that while nobody wants 

 the Sultan's rule at Cairo, they nevertheless take his side about Akabah. 

 This is the case with even the most advanced of Mohammed Abdu's 

 disciples. As to the Khedive's attitude, it is not known precisely what 

 line he took, as he seems to have held one language to Cromer and 

 another to Mukhtar Pasha. There can, however, be little doubt that 

 he was with the Sultan in the affair, as he has just gone to Constanti- 

 nople, which certainly would not be the case if he had taken the English 

 side. It has been a year of terrible drought for the Bedouins. 



"21st June. — To-day the 'Manchester Guardian' has published a 

 protest I have drawn up against the intended execution of certain 

 f ellahin, near Tantah, for the so-called ' murder ' of a British officer, 

 and the hurting of several more, which took place on the 13th. [This 

 was the notorious Denshawai affair, which led to world-wide results.] 

 It is an abominable case. As far as one could learn from the telegrams 

 and some slight admissions made by Grey in Parliament, the officers 

 were part of an English military force, making a promenade through 

 the Delta, with the object of demonstrating for political purposes the 

 military power of Great Britain. Finding themselves encamped near 

 Tantah, they could think of nothing better to do than to shoot the 

 tame pigeons in a village hard by, and went out, seven of them, in 

 uniform for the purpose. They say they were invited there by an 

 Omdeh of the village, but when they got there the villagers objected, 

 and as none of them knew Arabic they got frightened ; a gun then went 

 off in the hands of one of them ; a woman and some men were killed or 

 wounded, and the officers were belaboured with nabuts. Two of these 

 ran away, it is said to bring help from their camp, seven miles off, and 

 one of them was found dead four miles from the village. This is 

 exactly like all these cases, except that it is the first time an officer has 



